Musc Nomade (2008)
by Annick Goutal

I always wonder about this one. It’s made with a large serving of muscone, a musk with high molecular weight. Apparently the musks to which people are anosmic are these large ones. What does this smell like to them? To me it’s lovely.

My take on MN is that it has the softness and rounded fruity sweetness of the non-threatening wing of musk fragrances, “white musks, “ but also the complexity over time that the beastier musks have. This is more baby skin than rank armpit. There is a little of the waxy quality common to some musks, but the note that really fixes itself to the sweetness is the booziness. Booze and baby-skin. If that’s not enough complexity, consider therapy.

Once into the basenotes, MN wears close to the skin but also loses some sweetness, becoming a bit woody. MN’s drydown has a long trajectory and traces of woody berry sweetness drift up to your nose 12 hours after applying it. I love that this has the happy-happy angles of the clean musks, but the complexity-without-skank of the heavier musks. I keep wedging MN between the two ends of the musk spectrum that I’m positing, and I shouldn’t. If anything, the center area that MN seems to occupy shows that moderation can be a smart and definitive choice and not just a compromise.

A great scent for SoCal dry summer nights.

11th December, 2010. (Last Edited: 16th February, 2011.)

Absolutely love this composition. This is rather light and breezy compared to the other 3 from the Les Orientalistes releases. There is a very pleasant woody, floral and resinous undertone that has been put together exceptionally well to compliment the clean musk. Nothing dirty about this one at all, the civet is pretty tame, but still noticeable in a transparent-like manner.

7th January, 2010. (Last Edited: 22nd March, 2010.)

Yummy! A skanky, dirty, musty, dry and sharply powdery musk with a hint of woods and resins, like the love child of Muscs Koublai Khan and L'air de rien!

20th December, 2009.

The angelica rises off the skin immediately…

I have a love / dislike relationship with angelica, and here, it would be love, but this lovely version of it just doesn’t last long enough for me. The angelica disappears and the accord is immediately taken over by the musks, the rose, and the woods of the middle. I find the middle accord “pretty” at first but very quickly it becomes uninspired. It is also short lived and moves to the base too quickly. To my nose the tonka bean dominates the drydown and it is too sweet for my tastes. I get the white musks that are there, but I don’t get the labdanum, so, again, I am not impressed. On my skin Musc Nomade neither projects nor lasts.

Confession: Musks are not my favorites. Of the Les Orientalistes line I thoroughly enjoyed Encens Flamboyant and I purchased Myrrhe Ardente. To my tastes they are excellent scents that are true to their mission. Musc Nomade may very well be true to its mission, but I don’t find it very special, and its longevity is not at all good on my skin.

14th November, 2009.

Despite the slightly "granny's dressing table" bottle, this is a must have for me. Maybe this is one of those fragrances which is in harmony with my skin, but every time I come back to this one, it astonishes me. Always warm, slightly sweet, heavy lidded and half asleep, like a baby's contented milky breath. Addictive and seductive, whenever I wear this, you can see passers by being lifted by the nose, slapped, kissed and left wondering why they didnt have the courage to ask me what I'm wearing. If it works this well for you, I guess its worth the cost.

2nd July, 2009.

Annick Goutal Musc Nomade

Musc Nomade is one of four scents in the Les Orientalistes line created in 2008 by Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal. The inspiration for these scents was said to be the smells of the harem. Up until now while enjoying the other Les Oriantalistes I haven't been whisked away to my mental seraglio. Musc Nomade achieves the stated goal admirably. Musc is one of my favorite notes to see interpreteted by different perfumers and in Musc Nomade MMes. Doyen and Goutal choose to go for the less earthy musc and instead use a combination of three white muscs to add a layer of brightness to this. At the top, the first of the white muscs comes out and it is paired with the nutty note of almond. The almond adds a little sweetness to the airiness of the musc and gets this off to a sparkling start. The heart undergoes a shift as the musc changes and gains a little more depth along with a new partner, tonka, Once again it is a little sweet mixed with the musc and creating a nice accord. The base is also a mix of musc and sweet in the presence of Bombay wood which is the sweetness of papyrus. As this progresses the musc gets a little more pronounced and a little more power until the mix at the end feels very sensual. This is a beautiful light musc which feels light on my skin but yet has a subtle intensity that I enjoy all during its development. No musc is ever going to be completely clean but Musc Nomade has the quality of feeling exotic and a little erotic which fits a scent trying to evoke a harem.

11th April, 2009.